Daddy Dearest 2
by Pythonmelon
Summary: eleven years after Lucy Harper died her murderer, Vlad's son Thomas, dares to show his face in the quaint little town again.
1. Chapter 1

Vlad was lying in an odd position on the couch. Mina, who had gotten so much older since he first met her, seemed to like sitting this way. He had one leg hung over the cushion and his head was on the arm rest. It was actually really comfortable to him. He stared out the window, bored because his little friend was studying for finals. She was so much busier these days. Well, that was what came with getting older. At least for a little while.

That had been an issue between all three of them lately. The third party in the argument being Igor, of course. Mina wanted him to turn her. It was a sensitive subject. Vlad had been taking her breath away, metaphorically speaking, for eleven years. He just didn't feel like he could actually kill her. Especially not after what had happened to Lucy.

The vampire shuddered. For the last several years he had kept Thomas's letter and watched Lucy Harper's grave. He would have done anything to have never met his son. No, that wasn't quite right- he only wished to be able to have saved his best friend's sister. Mina hadn't been the same since the accident.

She wasn't stupid, of course, and had figured Thomas's role in her sister's murder. He had been nice to her, but now she made it very clear that he would get what was coming to him if the vampire ever returned. Vlad, through it all, did want to see the other count again. What more could he do with his only son, the only sign that he had ever been human and the life he had had? The man was a spoiled brat, or had been. He had no idea what they would do if Thomas ever returned. He felt lost.

Thomas had just returned to America from Europe. He had spent a handful of years, maybe eleven, there. It was fantastical memory trip for a spoiled vampire of his stature. Goodness, Paris was so crowded in some places that he hardly had to hide a body after a killing. But it got old after a while. Without even thinking he found himself in a vaguely familiar little urban town. It reminded him of his father. About the mistake he had made. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. This WAS the town where his father resided.

The Count- he loved the title he had inherited dearly- had fed before entering the suburbs and was glad for it. He was scared to kill anyone in Vlad Hide's territory after the Lucy incident. He wondered if that stupid little human girl had put all the pieces together yet. He wondered if she was still alive or even human anymore. "Vell, Thomas old boy," He chuckled and adjusted his glasses, surprised even now that they held on when he was hanging upside down from a tree. "Vat say you and I pay a visit to daddy dearest?"

Mina was going on a trip to visit some of the colleges around the state and couldn't come over, again. Vlad was beginning to wonder if he was losing her. The idea of biting and turning her pulled ahead again like a race horse. What if she grew tired of him? He dismissed the thought for now and wondered how on Earth he was going to keep himself entertained for the next couple of days. Maybe he could visit some of his friends? They had been curious about him and the 'werewolf' girl for years.

There, like a savior, was a knock on the door. He got up to answer it, but the door was already opening. "Daddy dearest!" Thomas had him caught in a hug before Vlad could so much as flinch. The vampire's father shoved him off like a disease. He stared at Thomas, dumbstruck.

"What are you doing here?" Was the first question, or demand, out of his mouth.

Thomas got up and brushed himself off. The Count noticed that his son's attire had changed greatly since their last meeting. His beige suit had been replaced with a black one with red pockets and a pair of handsome shined leather dress shoes. He had been living just the way he used to without really being affected by Lucy's death in a moral sense. It did leave its mental scars though. Don't get him wrong, though, he did mean the apology he had left. "I came to visit, Vlad." He frowned. "I guess you haven't found it in yourself to forgive me, then."

Vlad growled. "Mina has never trusted another monster since then. Because of you." He poked his son in the chest, but not hard.

"Well, she shouldn't have gotten involved with the undead in the first place." The other vampire defended himself weakly. He knew he was wrong. "Listen," He sighed. "I want to apologize face to face."

"Thank you. You know I care about you." Vlad said quickly. "But you're not welcome here, with Mina around."

So she was still alive? "Vat do you mean?" Thomas knew that the little girl would probably hate him, but what could she do?

"Master Thomas!" Igor hurried in for a fashionably late greeting. He had decided very quickly after the other vampire disappeared that he liked Thomas better than Vlad. He wasn't soft. He brought the man a tall glass of blood and smiled generously.

Vlad slapped Igor on the back of the head, telling him to leave. "At least someone is giving me a varm velcome." Thomas smirked. Vlad clenched his fists irritatedly.

"Like I said, it vould be great if you stayed but Mina von't allow it." He crossed his arms.

"Since ven does a human have any say in whether I stay or go?" He asked, growling faintly. The little girl had no right to be ordering him or his father around.

"Since I fell in love vith her." Vlad said the words before he thought them. He swallowed deeply. Thomas wouldn't leave until it was done now. The younger vampire looked shocked and then smiled cruelly. He would do it himself if he had to and the count knew it. Vlad Hide had just doomed his best friend.


	2. Chapter 2

"What?!" Mina Harper screeched at Vlad. "You promised Thomas WHAT?!" She was touched that he had admitted his love for her, had cried in happiness at first, but was now furious that he had promised to turn her. Sure, she wanted him to turn her, but not like this. She wanted it to mean something.

"Now, now Mina keep your head." Vlad sighed. He was trying to calm her down. The Count flinched as an eighteen year old Mina hurled a throw pillow at his head. Thomas chuckled. He had been staring lovingly at Mina for the last ten minutes. She had changed so much, and the sound of her rushing blood now sang to him. He had acted the same way she was now when his fiancé told him that she had killed him.

"I'd like to keep my pulse!" The girl whined. She pouted angrily. How unfair- she had no say in when she was going to die anymore. Not that she had in the first place, but she wanted Vlad to bend to her will, not Thomas's.

"I feel like I should take a bit of responsibility for this." Thomas got off the couch. He couldn't stand to watch such a beautiful girl get so mad at his father. He had been shocked at how lovely she had become. The vampire licked his lips absently. He gave Mina a sympathetic smile.

"I'll have to take something and stop you right there." Vlad stood up as well and looked at Mina. "I never told you, Mina, but I've been breaking some serious rules since ve met. That's vhy you had to dress as a verevolf. Eventually you vould have to die, in one vay or another."

Thomas giggled, interrupting again. "Vat rules?" He laughed harder. "All the 'rules' are one monster's opinion against another. Vhile I don't really support the idea of any vampire befriending a human there is nothing that really says you can't do it." Sure, they made makeshift governments and courts but it varied so widely from place to place that nothing was set in stone. The monsters were much less organized than they thought of themselves as.

"True." The other vampire was aware of this fact as well. Vlad looked around, wishing there was some way to stop the imminent. Thomas caught the desperation in his look and felt a crack of sympathy. He suddenly wished that he had ignored what his father had said. He had just sped up what was coming.

Shaking his head, wishing that he could shut up, Thomas looked back at them with a short pained smile. Still, the vampire refused to revoke his promise. "Here, I vill stay and help vith everything." He thought for a moment. "I am giving you all three days to ready yourselves." He frowned a little, thinking about how this meant Mina, the little girl he had despised only so long ago and had grown into this beautiful, fragile creature he felt some need to preserve, would become his stepmother. _'Oh vell. Live and let die'_, he guessed.

Mina looked down at her hands sadly and nodded. Despite her expression her eyes shown with excitement at finally joining her loved one in the afterlife. Thomas stared into those lovely, deer-like mouse brown eyes and shook his head. He felt like she was poisoning him with a simple look. It was painful and irritating. His stomach felt like it had been set on fire.

Vlad looked at his son and lover and frowned a little. He saw sparks flying between the three of them and, very frankly, didn't like it. Mina was his. He looked at the clock and saw that it was nearly midnight. Gently he took Mina's hand and pulled her towards the door. "Come, Mina, let's get you to bed. I'll help you to pack tomorrow night." He led her out the door.

Igor shuffled in with another glass of blood for his master's son. "Another drink, Master Thomas?" He offered. The vampire's face was blank, and he looked a tad sickly. The man didn't move. "Are you thirsty?"

Thomas snapped out of his stupor and stood up, heading for the bedchambers. "Yes, I'm terribly thirsty." He took the glass without another word and sniffed it as he walked. However, because his stomach was still churning and he didn't feel well, he laid it down on the counter as he walked down the hall.

That day neither Thomas nor Vlad could get to sleep. Thomas couldn't help but think of how he had bought Mina a ticket to the same fate as him and his father. Vlad felt the same about killing her, but also about the immediate live-wire chemistry between his son and Mina. What if Thomas fell for Mina with more strength than he had? What if, more importantly, she left him for his child?

But there was also the fact that the other Count had killed Lucy. That immediately set Thomas away from Mina. The barrier of murder was a hard one to break. That he found as a reassurance and, eventually around eleven or twelve in the morning, he fell asleep.

Thomas wasn't quite so lucky. He hadn't fallen in love since Delilah, and had forgotten what it felt like. Was this sudden feeling he had for Mina love? Why did it burn his insides so? What, more importantly, set her apart from all the other great dames he had slain in the last seven hundred years? Maybe, just maybe, it was because she was really loved… eternally loved… and he would lose everything if he took her. When the vampire did finally fall asleep, it wasn't escape. Only a doorway into his worst memory, his constant nightmare; his last night as a human being.

It was a calm, quiet night. The night before their wedding. Thomas had gently wrestled the woman he loved onto their couch, kissing her face and neck lovingly. But he did nothing else. While the woman, Delilah, was his and his alone, his morals were not to touch her until she was legally married to him. It was a straining promise though and the neckline of her night gown was just…so low… like she teased him. He smiled before noticing a slow, apologetic frown creasing her brow. "Vat is it, love?" He asked quickly.

Lovely young Delilah that hadn't changed a bit since they met two years ago, and had poor circulation and a paleness that only her tender, harlequin type husband could love, who had odd ears and strange, dead eyes, and pointed teeth and never ate anything that he saw, sighed. Thomas's loving fiancé sat up, looking her husband-to-be in the eyes. "Thomas, I have been keeping a secret from you." She admitted gently. The vampire, who had been born this way but found her love in humans for more than their blood, for this man, was about to take him into her world… to live forever and always with her. She rubbed her thumbs together in her lap, folded like a lady's over her sleeping gown, in worry. "Do you remember those creatures, the blood drinkers, the priest talked about last week in town? After Nathaniel Birch was killed?"

Thomas Hide, who had never been more in love and would never be, looked a little surprised. "Yes, I remember. Nathaniel's death vas vone of many over the last year. Vat does that have to do with your secret?" A tiny bit of nervousness had crept into his voice. The sermon had been a powerful one taken into the town square on midday of the Sabbath. It was believed that these creatures were causing the deaths, apparently. Now anything that had to do with the immortal 'vampires' made the villagers shuffle away in anticipation. According to preacher Hawthorne even a good man who said his prayers could been turned into one of the monsters and forced to walk as a corpse for as long as time would allow.

"Vell…" Delilah sighed nervously. "I am vone of the vampires, the valking dead. I vas born like this and have been alive at twenty five years of age for vone hundred and seventy two years."

Her husband's eyes widened. Sometimes the children pretended at being monsters, but no adult claimed to be one. Ever. What was going on here? Was she- the woman he loved, who was so tender and sweet and unlike a monster- really a child of the night? He unconsciously moved away from her, nervous. "Delilah…is that true?"

"Yes," She nodded quietly. He finally saw it- her lack of appetite, her pointed ears and pale skin, her sharp fangs. His fiancé really was a monster! A vampire! "But please, Thomas, understand that I do truly love you… I vant us to be together forever, in the afterlife. So I have to do this vith great regret and apology…" She trailed off before taking him up, forcing him down and tilting his chin up. The man flailed but was no match for her strength.

"Delilah… you don't know vat you're doing… please release me." He begged before feeling a pair of sharp objects break through the skin of his neck. He groaned in pain slightly, gritting his teeth and gasping, as she began to drink. The vampire tried to be gentle and pressed her tongue up against his wounds, taking as much blood as she had to. Her lips were soft and cold against her love's skin. She felt him growing weak after a few moments and drew away quickly, using her fangs to slit her wrist. While Thomas continued to breathe heavily his fiancé pressed her bleeding wrist against his mouth and dripped some of the blood down his throat.

The blood was down before Thomas could even protest. His eyes snapped wide open after a moment and he clutched his chest, screaming in pain. The venom hit his system hard but when Delilah tried to comfort him he scrambled back. Suddenly his heart quit beating and the man clawed at his leather vest before swaying drunkenly, ignorant of the pain for a second. He looked over at his wife accusingly. "Delilah… vat have you done?" He asked sadly before collapsing in pain and blacking out.

Thomas snapped up from the nightmare in a cold sweat, as usual. He shook with a few dry, wracking sobs before clutching his shoulders and forcing himself to calm down again. Almost every night he woke up like that… but now it was worse than usual. Maybe it was his fear of forcing someone else to go through the same torture… but Mina loved his father and was willing to go through it for Vlad. Maybe that was it- he was still saddened by his unfortunate fate and reaction to finding out what he had become. She had it so good compared to most of their kind.

Vlad never heard his son's cries. He never would, until it was far too late to comfort Thomas. The vampire was forever haunted by his human life… and that's why he hated it so. He wished it would move on and torture some other soul for the rest of his immortal life. But it would never happen. Thomas's father was still in his own dream, a much more pleasant one… for now.

Vlad was still alive in this dream. He was still blushing and warm and close to his family. Thomas was holding his hand as they walked through drifts of snow into the forest. The tiny child stumbled around and laughed, trying to stay upright in the high mounds of ice. His silky blonde hair waved in the wind and his father picked him up, putting the one year old on his shoulders for a ride. The young man heard a soft, sweet laugh and he looked over at Sarah.

But it wasn't Sarah wearing her warm but poorly made fur coat, something Vlad had tried at for their anniversary, but Mina. She held his hand now and Thomas giggled, wrapping his arms around his father's forehead and making a mess of his hair. Despite his surprise Vlad smiled, long and happy. This felt so… perfect. He didn't care to wonder if it was a dream or not even though the impossibilities were great.

They were out to cut some reeds from around a frozen pond in the forest to make baskets from. He checked his pocket watch- midnight. The man couldn't help but wonder how it could be so light out in the middle of the night, or if his watch had stalled. But there wasn't time to care because they had come into the little crescent shaped clearing. The Count set Thomas down and let go of Mina's hand, letting her go to cut the reeds as he got into a snowball fight with his son, allowing himself to be hit with even the poorest shots to please the little boy.

He looked over at his wife again and realized something he hadn't before. There was a small bulge in her stomach. Another young life seemed to have found seed and begun growing there. "Oh, Mina!" He ran over and hugged her from behind. The young woman squealed and laughed in surprise as he picked her up and spun her around. So their sweet love had produced something to love even more than each other! He rubbed her belly, wondering if it was a boy or girl. Mina planted a short kiss on his lips before looking back at her other son.

The couple's eyes widened in horror as Thomas ran out onto the surface of the icy pond. He was after a large pile of crunchy snow, perfect to make a snow fort from. He didn't realize that he was running on thin ice and screeched in surprise when a piece the size of his boot fell out from under him. He fell forward and hit his forehead on the ice before bursting into tears.

Vlad was at a loss to help his son. If he ran out onto the pond's surface they would both surely go into the freezing water. The man would let Thomas get out on his own instead of risking the four-foot deep water. The small child soon stopped sobbing and didn't seem to realize that there were streams of blood running down his forehead. He tried to worm his way out of the ice and was doing fairly well… until the one-year-old managed to plant his other foot on the surface for better purchase… and it broke as well.

The young man never realized, watching in horror as his nightmare unfolded, that Thomas's struggle on the ice was a sick representation of the rest of his life. His entire life. Vlad opened his mouth to cry out before the ice broke fully but didn't find his voice, only a tiny squeak. Mina was the one who found the ability to scream in horror and despair when Thomas's tiny, flailing hands disappeared under the water. Vlad collapsed onto the snowy woodland floor, beating his fists against the ground like a child throwing a tantrum. "I… I should have at least TRIED to help!" He screamed at himself before laying his head down and whimpering, broken beyond repair. Mina had suddenly calmed after her scream and sat down beside him on her knees. She stroked her husband's back softly.

"Honey… It's not your fault." It wasn't… and Vlad realized this. But he was still brokenhearted. She continued comforting him. "And we have… other things to worry about." She touched her stomach gently. He sat up solemnly and touched her belly too. Yes… other things to worry about. Maybe more important than the sudden loss of his son…. Only moments ago…

And as soon as he forgot his first son's disappearance a long, blue, clawed hand surfaced in the frozen pond. It clawed at the air before sinking it's fingertips into the ice and dragging itself up. The Thomas he knew now rose out of the water, dripping but not appearing wet at all. His eyes were closed and when he opened them they were glowing red with thirst. The young vampire was breathing heavily. He looked through his glasses at Vlad. "Other… Things to vorry about? You never even tried to help? Vouldn't risk anything to try and look after me as best you could even vhen you- or I- vas lost?" The man demanded as he walked across the pond, unwavering despite how thin and slippery it was.

His father stood up and scrambled back. Mina tried to as well but was grabbed, pulled into a straining headlock. Vlad managed to get to his feet and, shakily, tried to calm his son down. "Now… you know I couldn't risk leaving our mother and killing myself-"

"She's not my mother!" The vampire roared. "Vat, did you forget Sarah? Mommy dearest? Eh? Replaced her didn't you?!" He ran a claw angrily over Mina's belly, slitting the warm cloth of her dress. "And now you're replacing me. Like garbage."

This also hinted something that had haunted Vlad with guilt since he had to leave his family. He had never even made an effort to check on them, tell them he was okay… no matter how sad her was to have lost them he had never tried to do anything about it. He had never tried to save Thomas. Had never given any sympathy. He had only wallowed in his own problems until it was too late, and moved on without blinking afterwards. And no wonder it seemed as if he had replaced them. "No- Thomas no!" He shrieked in an effort to save himself and Mina. His nightmare closed before the worst happened.

Both vampires hid their shudder-worthy nightmares from each other. Vlad looked over at Thomas in slight apologetic contempt. Thomas, not understanding, turned away and found himself looking into a mirror. He sighed sadly and laid his fingers delicately on the silvery glass before heading upstairs to get his nightly drink and hunt. Maybe afterward he would spend time helping his father and Mina ready for the inevitable.

Vlad watched this and recognized after-turning depression immediately. Every vampire that caught a case of it acted this way. But… he had rarely seen a case so long after the person had become a monster. He suddenly wanted to wrap his son in a hug and apologize for everything. Everything from the day he died to now; it all deserved an apology. But Thomas had run upstairs by now and left. He sighed sadly and went to Mina's house to wake her.


	3. Chapter 3

Another thing that had influenced Vlad's nightmare was his rudimentary reaction to even the tiniest of smells. What he had seen of Mina in his dream was a reaction to the faint scent of pregnancy hormones. They were only about a month into play, really. Even with that, even with the fact had smelled it before he realized it, his reaction was still of surprise. He swept his wife to- be off her feet with a loud laugh of joy. The vampire's child was now growing inside the one he loved.

And at this, he realized that his being forced to turn Mina was no longer force. He would have had to soon anyway. Her being pregnant with a vampire child… a human body wouldn't handle it. While the mother of a vampire did have to be alive to conceive the child, she no longer could be human to have it. Well, have it and live that is. A baby vampire would eat a human host from the inside out.

Their original problem with Thomas was gone, but Vlad's vivid dream reminded him of his son's anger… how would he take it in the real world? But his own rationality reminded him that Thomas was not that monster from his nightmare. He was his son, and he could take the worst that was thrown at him. You had to too live seven hundred years. Mina rubbed her belly tenderly and smiled at him. "What will we name her?"

"Her?" The vampire looked a little surprised. How in the world would she be able to tell that their child was a girl? She was less than a month pregnant! "How do you know it's a her?"

"Just a feeling I get." The young woman smiled lightly. "I guess it's mother's instinct." She chuckled a little. "Well?"

"Vell Vat?" He was distracted, thinking only of telling Thomas these things about the new addition to their family. "Oh," He shook his head. "Oh, the name." He closed his eyes and remembered the nightmare… replacing his loved ones… and gave a small smile. "I was thinking Sarah. What do you think?"

"I like it." The younger girl smiled again. Her cheeks were warm and pink, but you could tell that she was still nervous. She really did like the name and recognized it as his former wife's name. "And if I'm wrong and it's a boy?"

He gave another small laugh. "Vell I vill let you choose this vone. And you can pick the girl's middle name, I'll get the boy's." Mina smiled, almost chuckling at how organized about it he was. She wondered if he had been this way when Thomas was born.

"Well," She stroked her still-flat belly. "I want to say William. I've always liked that name."

Vlad smiled. It had been a popular name when he was a child and still remained timeless. "Vonderful. Sarah or Villiam." He picked her up in another hug and swung her around. Then he sat her down and placed his cold hands on her shoulders. "But I'm vorried about something. I'm afraid Thomas will think ve are replacing him."

The girl scowled quietly. She didn't like Thomas still… But did understand and respect that Vlad still loved his son. It hit her that when she married Vlad she would become the other vampire's stepmother. That made her give a small laugh. While Thomas was fully grown and she didn't really have a say over him, it would be fun to be his boss. And he had been growing on her in the last few days. But in a different way…

Bill Harper had been cleared that Mina was going to move out. She had been packing hard for the last week. As far as her father knew she was moving a few states away with her old friend, Martha, close to the college she wanted to go to. She promised her father she'd call sometimes. He agreed willingly, with a smile. It made her sad to leave him like this.

Thomas had given up on a three-day limit by the time the first deadline came. He was still feeling down because of his nightmares and chose to stay away from Mina and Vlad other than moving boxes or helping pack occasionally. Vlad kept his space as well.

Mina and Thomas were slowly feeling themselves drawn together. Mina would catch Thomas looking at her sometimes, and the other way around. They walked a little closer together in the hall. Vlad took notice of this as well. Right now Thomas was carrying a box of Mina's valuables down the hall to her the chamber where her coffin would be placed next to Vlad's. Thomas was still laying low but he could sense Mina wanting to comfort him for whatever was wrong. He gritted his teeth and hissed faintly when his lover put a hand on his son's shoulder tenderly. Was this… jealousy?

Later when Vlad was walking with Mina in the courtyard, catching their breath and having some romantic downtime, he turned to her. "Mina?"

"Yeah?" The young woman smiled and looked over to him, letting go of his hand. She pulled her hair back into the signature ponytail as a light breeze picked up.

"I vas vondering…" The vampire tried to pick out the right words. "Do you have feelings for Thomas?"

Mina paled slightly. "Well…" She didn't want to upset him, especially since they were engaged and she was supposed to dislike her stepson. "We have grown closer." Her eyes widened, not wanting to be suggesting anything. "And I'm starting to understand his position in all of this. He does feel bad about what he did and with all I've learned about vampires- I realize it's not completely his fault. Maybe the poor little guy just needs some sympathy."

Vlad was completely surprised by this answer. Suddenly he felt stupid. Mina seemed to have figured out most of what was wrong with his son in a week, when it took him eleven years to even realize that Thomas had problems. "Yes, I understand…" He took her hand again and gave a small smile. "I vas just curious."

The day had finally arrived and the trio could no longer wait. Igor chose to stay out tonight so as not to interrupt the plans. He would be getting plenty of fresh male blood for Mina. The girl was in her room, getting into something comfortable and just being nervous in general. How much would it hurt? Could she really go through with this? Was she willing to hurt other people to live? Most importantly- was it worth it?

Vlad was in a panic himself. He was trying to plan how to fake his and Mina's deaths, and their wedding, and most of all trying to work up the courage to turn her. Thomas was trying to stay out of the way but fidgeted, wanting to talk to Mina before she died. "Thomas!" Vlad came running up to his son, placing his hands on the younger vampire's shoulders. His eyes were almost brimming with tears. "I can't do it. I just can't." He sighed sadly. "I vant you to turn her for me. I can't even bring myself to vatch."

Thomas's dead eyes widened in shock. He couldn't believe it. Vlad cared so much about Mina that he couldn't even stand the thought of making her one of his own kind. He was entrusting his son with the job.


	4. Chapter 4

"I vill," Thomas smiled at his father. This was his chance! His one chance to talk with Mina! "But… you do realize this vill make me her master?" He was fairly sure his father knew the risks, but wasn't sure if he had considered them. Thomas would have the ability to order Mina about because it was his venom-laced blood that had killed her.

"I know," Vlad frowned and looked down. Then he smiled. "But I finally have the feeling that you are going to do the right thing. And the child vill be born free." That was all worth it. Thomas had earned his trust in the last few weeks. "And please, hypnotize the pain avay for her. I'll go mad if I hear her scream."

"I vill, and thank you." The younger vampire smiled calmly. "Please have trust in me father." He asked as he opened the door to enter Mina's room.

"I do." That was the last he heard from his son before Mina died.

Mina was sitting on the edge of the bed, holding her hands in her lap. She was deep in thought and hardly noticed when the vampire sat down beside her. "Oh," She looked at Thomas in surprise. "Where's Vlad?"

Thomas cocked his head. "My father is too scared to harm you. He asked me to do it." He smiled to himself. "He loves you very much."

"I know." She sat up a little straighter, smiling as her cheeks turned pink for the last time. "And I love him too. And I think I'm ready for this." She was slowly forgetting her sister's death at this young man's hands eleven years ago. "I trust you to turn me." Mina vaguely understood Vlad's fear of harming her. He HAD actually bitten her a few times, of course with her permission, but this was different. Very different.

Thomas smiled. His cheeks would have turned pink but instead he just put a hand over hers. This was his one chance. "Then please don't mind ven I do this."

"What-" The young woman started but it was cut off. Thomas grabbed her cheeks and kissed her full on the mouth. It was long and tender and Mina's face instantly became hot. Her eyes fluttered. Soon she found herself kissing him back.

When Thomas pulled away he looked just about as faint as Mina. "Mina, I have finally seen vat my father has loved in you for so long, and I can't let him keep it all to himself. I von't."

The girl was stunned. "I… THOMAS!" She slapped a hand over her mouth. "I do care about you but… I can't."

"That vas all I vanted." He assured. "Just between us. That vas all I vanted." He looked down and away. It had been an impulsive move on his father's fiancée, his future step mother. He was far from satisfied though. But a drink from her and that sweet kiss would have to do. He brushed back his silvery blonde hair in discomfort and embarrassment.

The girl touched his hand again. "I guess it will be alright." She wished her blush would go away. "As long as it is the last of it." It wasn't that she didn't like it- far from that, actually. Thomas was just as loveable as Vlad when you got close enough to him- but she felt doubt growing inside her. Anymore and she felt she would be caught between them like someone at the gallows.

The awkward tension was hurting Thomas's stomach the way it had the first night he saw her. "It is. I svear." He crossed his unbeating heart with a claw. "Now…" Vlad would be getting curious as to what was happening. "Are you ready?" He rubbed his thumbs together thoughtfully.

"I guess." Mina looked at him with a weak smile. "I can't put it off forever."

"As you vish." He put on hand on the back of her head and pulled the girl into his lap. His eyes glowed a slow shade of blood red as he hypnotized Mina into unconsciousness. She drooped like a wilting flower in his arms. The vampire leaned over her and very gently pushed his fangs through the skin on Mina's neck.

He closed his eyes and slowly began to drink. This was another thing for his father to love about her. The blood was sweet, and somehow savory at the same time. It would be a shame to end such a delicious blood supply. He tried not to think about it though. As he pulled away because her heart was slowing the hardest part of turning a victim came. He licked his fangs sadly before using a fang to slit his wrist. As the blood came he placed his wrist onto the girl's lips. The blood ran out of the wound and down her throat. He took it away when the cut had healed completely.

He winced when she began to writhe in pain. The girl whined in her sleep as she clutched the Thomas's suit when her heart stopped. He sighed and stood up, holding her to his chest. The vampire pulled back the bed sheets and tucked her in gently. The silence welled in the room and he was practically forced out the door by an invisible force that told him to leave her. He found his father waiting outside for him. "It is done." He said and trudged away to lie down and settle his stomach butterflies.

When Mina woke she couldn't even lift her head. Vlad was lying next to her, holding her hand. The light of his life, though extinguished, was still here and that was what mattered. He kissed her on the forehead. "Velcome to the afterlife, Mina Harper." She giggled weakly and managed to sit up next to him.

He turned his head to the side thoughtfully. While she seemed so different now, she was not. It was the same girl here with him, and he loved that. She smiled. "So… Uhm…." She looked thoughtful, her now dark eyes having lost none of their shine. "May I have something to drink?" Her stomach was a little tight but she knew she would need something to drink.

"Oh!" Vlad laughed. "Oh of course!" He picked up his loved one and carried her to the kitchen for her first drink as one of the undead.

Two months later Vlad found himself at the altar. The ring bearer, a little werewolf child that was the daughter of one of Vlad's friends, trotted up the aisle with the pillow in her jaws. Thomas rocked on his heels and nodded approvingly at his father. He smiled at Mina as well. "You may kiss the bride." The ghost that was dictating the wedding wrung his hands together and smiled as Mina lept into Vlad's embrace and kissed him warmly.

Six months after that a new member was added to the Hide family. Her name was Sarah Rose Hide. Three days after Mina carried her into the hall when the doorbell rang. The baby, just as pale as her mother and father and twice as adorable, giggled. The young vampire tickled her chin and opened the door. Thomas came in and wrapped them both in a hug. "Ah, Mommy Dearest!" The vampire had already taken to calling her that. He backed up and let his step mother smiled in surprise and wave him inside. "So this is my new little half-sister." He examined the baby girl.

"Thomas! Welcome home." The door was always open for him now. He would have lived there if he hadn't found a nice place of his own a few towns over.

It seemed that something had changed in Thomas since he returned to stay with his father. He couldn't seem to bring himself to kill every meal, or even most of them now. Though his slightly cruel sense of humor remained it was more bearable. And, even though they knew they weren't supposed to, he managed to share a kiss with Mina, even if it was only on the cheek, every so often. It gave him that sense of happiness he had so longed for.

The blonde man smiled to himself as he came into the living room where Vlad was reading. Igor was still tending to the baby shower gifts, including toys that belonged to his new mistress. "I vould have come earlier," He began to form an excuse for himself. "But you know how things are. I'm still vorking on the papers for my home." He really was- he needed to make it seem as if no one lived on the private property of his large Victorian home and make a name to make the fake proof of purchase under.

"I understand." Vlad smiled and stood to fix the other two vampires a glass and a bottle for Sarah.

Mina offered the child to Thomas. He took his new sister into his arms carefully, knowing she was invulnerable though sensitive. She had short red hair, just like her mother's. He noticed with delight that her eyes were a beautiful hazel color. But there was a definite resemblance to Vlad as well. The vampire rocked her gently. "You are a beautiful girl." He cooed. "And you look so much like your daddy." He paused and looked at Mina, who nodded kind of knowingly. He let the little girl grab the points of his ears and coo. "Our daddy. Daddy Dearest."

**The End**


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